2025.Feb.28

REPORTS

Report on the 2nd BAIRAL Research Meeting for 2024
“Development of Biomimetic Robots and Constitutive Understanding of Humans: Approaching Human Through Robotics”

On August 6, 2024, the 2nd meeting for FY2024 of BAIRAL was held in a hybrid format. We invited Akihiro Miki, PhD Student, Department of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, to speak on the theme “Development of Biomimetic Robots and Constitutive Understanding of Humans: Approaching Human Through Robotics.”

The speaker is attempting to elucidate the mechanisms of human sensation, bodily structure, and sensory information processing through the design and analysis of biomimetic robots from a perspective that utilizes robots as tools for constructive understanding of humans beyond the conventional framework of robotics.

Human sensory organs are diverse, complementing each other to generate the five senses, somatic sensations and visceral sensations. Similarly, sensory organs exist in joints, creating complex sensations. The speaker has worked on developing soft joints containing liquid, creating joints closer to human ones, unlike the bearings and gears of conventional robots. He mimicked the multiple sensory organs in human joints by embedding numerous small sensors in these joints. Experiments were conducted to predict joint angles using machine learning based on information obtained from sensors while moving these joints, demonstrating high prediction accuracy.

Furthermore, it was found that while information from individual sensors might be meaningless, collectively, they provide a comprehensive understanding, revealing a human-like quality distinct from robots. Additionally, the developed joint possesses redundancy, maintaining overall function even if some sensors fail, which resembles humans who don’t lose sensation from minor injuries, unlike robots that stop or malfunction when a single part fails.

For prospects, the research aims to develop into a whole-body information system by adding elements such as skin and muscles to the developed joints, considering that human sensations are distributed throughout the body. Specifically, applications in sports medicine and rehabilitation, as well as reproduction and elucidation of changes in skin hardness and sensory organs in biological evolution, are being considered.

In the discussion, opinions were exchanged about the possibility of connecting with humanities fields and the significance of creating humanoid robots. In the historical approach to sensory research, which analyzes past literature and materials to study how people’s sensory experiences have changed, possibilities were suggested, such as analyzing differences in sensation by dressing robots in modern and historical clothing or reflecting differences in climate. From a present-to-future perspective, with the decrease in carriers of intangible cultural assets due to the declining birthrate and ageing population, the topic of whether sensory traditions passed down through master-disciple relationships could be quantified through biomimetic robots was also raised. 

Regarding humanoid robots, while individual sensors or joints might not necessarily need to be human-shaped, this research considers the overall connection of the body, suggesting meaning in creating robots that are human-like not only in function but also as a whole. Additionally, as a general principle in the field, it was mentioned that when robots are expected to perform physical labour in place of humans, they are designed with reference to male skeletal data and given masculine names, whereas social interaction robots can also be feminine. There is room for consideration regarding the relationship between robot function/role and gender image, as well as robot development based on gender differences in sensory reception.